4 Easy Ways to Increase Focus and Reduce Anxiety

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the self-improvement books and websites out there talking about tons of different ways to increase focus and reduce anxiety.

Many of those techniques are great, but can take quite a bit of practice before you start to see a lot of the benefits.

What I’m talking about here is something that many of these practices like yoga, meditation and martial arts have in common.

Breathing

Our ability to breathe is quite unique compared to the other systems of the body. We do it all day, every day, unconsciously, yet you can actively control it also.

I first learned about breath control through my martial arts training. Since then it has proved to be one of my favorite and most used hacks related to my wellness. It is used by elite soldiers to top level entrepreneurs and executives.

Our breath regulates so many other functions of our bodies, and we can use it to influence so many areas of peak performance.

Increase focus and attention

Reduce anxiety and stress

Improve immune system function

Increase blood flow

Regulate body temperature

Improve heart rate variability

Relieve tension

Improve sleep

These are just a few of the benefits associated with breathing exercises.

Let’s take a look at four very simple exercises that can make a noticeable improvement to your overall well-being.

Equal Breathing

Benefits

Reduce stress and anxiety

Help you relax

Increase focus

Calm a racing mind to fall asleep

Calm the nervous system

This is one of the simplest breathing exercises.

All you have to do is inhale for a count of four seconds, then exhale for a count of four seconds. Do all the breathing through the nose. Do this a minimum of 10 times.

After you have done this a few times, you can try to increase the count to 6 or 8 seconds.

Breath Control

Benefits

Calms yourself

Lowers heart rate

Improves digestion

Reduces stress and anxiety

Increases focus

This is a great breathing technique to switch from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic nervous system. I use this any time I am in a stressful situation, and it works wonders.

There are positive characteristics for each system. The problem is, most of us spend way to much time in sympathetic mode. The sympathetic nervous system is the one that activates fight or flight, which slows down many other important bodily functions. This can be good in some situations, like when our ancestors had to get away from a tiger. The problem is that in the high stress environments we live in today, we tend to stay in this mode way too much because our brains cannot determine the difference between real and perceived threats.

The parasympathetic mode is when our heart rate lowers, and we go into what is called rest and digest mode. Our stomach’s movements and secretions also increase in this mode.

The process for this technique is to simply exhale twice as long as you inhale.

To start with, inhale fully through you nose, making sure you are breathing from your stomach for 3 seconds. Then exhale through your nose for 6 seconds.

Do this for as long as you can, but try to practice it as many times throughout the day as possible. After you feel comfortable, you can increase the lengths of the breaths to 4 and 8 seconds, then 5 and 10 seconds and on up from there.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Benefits

Increases energy

Improves balance

Increases creativity

Calms the mind

Improves most circulatory and respiratory problems

Regulates body temperature

Improves concentration and focus

Reduces stress and anxiety

This is a great one to use when you wake up in the morning or on your way to work.

This breathing technique connects the left and right sides of the brain enabling them to work together to more creativity and focus.

I don’t recommend using this technique at night before bed because it can increase your energy and make you feel more awake.

To practice this technique, using the right hand, close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Then close off the left nostril with one of your other fingers and exhale through the right nostril. Then inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left. Continue this pattern for a few minutes.

Box Breathing

Benefits

Slows breathing rate

Increases focus and concentration

Calms your body while sharpening your mind

Increases awareness

Reduces anxiety and stress

This is one I practice multiple times each day because of all of the great benefits. Martial artists and soldiers love this one because it calms them down in high stress situations while increasing their awareness and focus. It also has been great to help me repair my lungs after smoking for many years.

It is called box breathing because there are four parts to the technique, all being equal.

To start off, inhale for 4 seconds. Then hold your breath for 4 seconds. Next exhale for 4 seconds and hold for 4 more seconds. Repeat for at least 5 minutes.

After you are comfortable with the 4 seconds, you can slowly start to increase the amount of time. Just make sure to keep each section the same length.

Conclusion

These are some of the simplest, yet effective ways to hack your biology. Most of them can be done anywhere, and best of all, it costs nothing.

As with most things, the more you practice them, the more benefits you will receive. Let me know in the comments if you have any other breathing techniques that work for you.

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About Chris James

Chris is an outdoor enthusiast that loves spending his free time exploring the forests around his house with his four boys. He loves writing about anything related to wellness but is especially passionate about helping people upgrade their bodies and minds starting with their work life since that is where most people spend the majority of their time.